MOTU 896 User's Guide

™ MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid User Guide for Mac 1280 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138Business voice: (617) 576-2760Business fax: (617) 576-3609Web sit

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CUEMIX FX100EDIT MENUUndo/RedoCueMix FX supports multiple undo/redo. This allows you to step backwards and forwards through your actions in the softwa

CUEMIX FX101FFT displayChoose Show FFT from the Filter display options menu (Figure 9-10) to superimpose a real-time Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) fre

CUEMIX FX102View controlsFigure 9-33: View controls You can show and hide the FFT display, spectrogram or EQ band response curves as desired using the

CUEMIX FX103one half of the entire frequency range is displayed. Pos determines which frequency is displayed at the center of the graph.In Min/Max mo

CUEMIX FX104View menuThe View menu (Figure 9-37) lets you choose how you wish to display the audio channel(s) being displayed.Display optionsThe Axes

CUEMIX FX105zero, denoted by the extra vertical graph lines surrounding it. There are two kinds of waveform recognition available: Type I and Type II

CUEMIX FX106HoldoffHoldoff defines a time interval during which the oscilloscope does not trigger. The most recent trace will be displayed during that

CUEMIX FX107To adjust the left and right edges of the measurement area, click and drag the blue bars in the graph, or click and drag the blue numbers

CUEMIX FX108transient is settled in the display and fairly stable, you may need to adjust the horizontal position to center it in the display. These s

CUEMIX FX109X-Y PLOTThe X-Y Plot window (Figure 9-43) graphs the amplitude of a stereo audio signal on a two-dimensional grid. For each unit of time

CHAPTER 11 1 About the 896mk3 Hybrid Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11The 896mk3

CUEMIX FX110View controlsThe View controls (Figure 9-44) provide several options for the X-Y Plot display.Figure 9-44: View controlsPausing the displa

CUEMIX FX111Figure 9-47: The Persistence controls.LengthLength (Figure 9-47) sets the number of recent samples to show on the plot. For example, when

CUEMIX FX112PHASE ANALYSISThe Phase Analysis window (Figure 9-49 on page 112) graphs frequency versus phase difference versus amplitude of a stereo si

CUEMIX FX113Pausing the displayThe Pause button in the upper right corner of the View section (Figure 9-50) allows you to freeze the display at any t

CUEMIX FX114AxesThe Axes control (Figure 9-50) sets the opacity of the grid displayed in the graph, from 100% (fully visible) down to 0% (fully hidden

CUEMIX FX115outside the critical frequency range of the instrument being recorded, you can avoid phase problems among the mic signals.Tuning PA syst

CUEMIX FX116TUNERThe Tu n e r window is an accurate and easy to use tuner.Opening the TunerEach 896mk3 interface has its own Tuner window. Choose the

CUEMIX FX117CONFIGURATIONS MENUA configuration is just like a hardware preset (a “snapshot” of all settings in CueMix FX and therefore the 896mk3 hard

CUEMIX FX118CONTROL SURFACES MENUCueMix FX can be controlled from an automated control surface such as the Mackie Control™. Use the commands in the Co

CUEMIX FX119Other HUI-compatible control surfacesAny control surface that has the ability to emulate a HUI should be compatible with CueMix FX. Just

ABOUT THE 896MK3 HYBRID 12 Mac and Windows drivers for multi-channel operation and across-the-board compatibility with any audio software on curren

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CHAPTER12110 MOTU SMPTE SetupOVERVIEWThe 896mk3 can resolve directly to SMPTE time code via any analog input, without a separate synchronizer. The 896

MOTU SMPTE SETUP122detect and switch to the incoming frame rate, except that it cannot distinguish between 30 fps and 29.97 fps time code, or 23.976 a

MOTU SMPTE SETUP123The 896mk3 cannot freewheel address without clock. Therefore, the Freewheel Address setting will always be lower than or equal to

MOTU SMPTE SETUP124RESOLVING PRO TOOLS TO TIME CODETo resolve your Pro Tools system directly to SMPTE time code with no additional synchroni-zation de

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APPENDIX127A Audio I/O referenceOVERVIEWThe MOTU Audio drivers supply text string labels for the 896mk3’s audio inputs and outputs to clearly identify

APPENDIX A: AUDIO I/O REFERENCE128Outputs at 1x sample ratesOutputs are always listed in the same order as follows, when operating the 896mk3 at 1x sa

APPENDIX129B TroubleshootingSlaving directly to time code in AudioDesk or Digital PerformerTo slave Digital Performer or AudioDesk directly to time co

ABOUT THE 896MK3 HYBRID 13 phantom power and 20 dB pad are supplied by separate front panel switches for each input. In addition, each input has its

APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING130REPLACING DISCSIf your installer disc becomes damaged, our Customer Support Department will be glad to replace it. You c

INDEX131Symbols+4dB analog input 2402R mixer 30-10dB analog input 241394 connector 8, 14, 21, 22192kHzmultiple interfaces 37operation 4220 dB pad 142

INDEX132Feedback loops 60FFT display 100File menuClear Peaks 100Copy/Paste 100Hardware Follows CueMix Stereo Settings 99Load Hardware Preset 99Mix1 re

INDEX133MOTU Audio Setup 19, 41MOTU SMPTE Setup 121NNaminginputs 79outputs 81Normal 84Nuendo 59clock source 60Mac OS X 62Main Out Assign 60optical I/

INDEX134Talkbackbutton (Channel tab) 84button (Outputs tab) 82explained 97menu 98, 117settings 98Technical support 129, 130Thresholddynamics 92Time co

ABOUT THE 896MK3 HYBRID 14 On-board SMPTE synchronization The 896mk3 can resolve directly to SMPTE time code via any TRS analog input, without a sepa

ABOUT THE 896MK3 HYBRID 15 Programmable backlit LCD display Any 896mk3 setting, including the powerful CueMix FX on-board 16-bus mixer with effects,

ABOUT THE 896MK3 HYBRID 16 CueMix FX CueMix FX gives you complete control over the 896mk3’s CueMix FX on-board mixer, which provides no-latency monit

CHAPTER 17 2 Packing List and System Requirements PACKING LIST The 896mk3 Hybrid ships with the items listed below. If any of these items are not pre

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CHAPTER193 Installing the 896mk3 SoftwareOVERVIEWInstallation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS CAUTION! READ THIS SAFETY GUIDE BEFORE YOU BEGIN INSTALLATION OR OPERATION. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH SAF

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 SOFTWARE20MOTU AUDIO SETUPMOTU Audio Setup (available in the Applications folder) gives you access to all of the settings in the

CHAPTER214 Installing the 896mk3 HardwareOVERVIEWHere’s an overview for installing the 896mk3:Connect the 896mk3 interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE22Figure 4-1: Connecting the 896mk3 to the computer via FireWire.☛ Make absolute sure to align the notched side of the F

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE23CONNECT AUDIO INPUTS AND OUTPUTSThe 896mk3 audio interface has the following audio input and output connectors: 8 co

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE24Combo jack summaryUse these general guidelines for the 48V phantom power, pad and trim settings for the combo inputs:A

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE25Using optical I/O to operate the 896mk3 as an 8-channel expanderWhen the 896mk3 is not connected directly to a comput

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE26A TYPICAL 896MK3 SETUPHere is a typical 896mk3 studio setup. This rig can be operated without a conventional mixer. Al

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE27OPERATING THE 896mk3 AS A CONVERTERAs explained earlier in “Using optical I/O to operate the 896mk3 as an 8-channel e

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE28MAKING SYNC CONNECTIONSIf you connect devices digitally to the 896mk3, or if you need to synchronize the 896mk3 with a

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE29SYNCING S/PDIF DEVICESS/PDIF devices will sync to the 896mk3 in one of two ways: Via the S/PDIF connection itself V

III Contents Part 1: Getting Started 7 Quick Reference: 896mk3 Front Panel 8 Quick Reference: 896mk3 Rear Panel 9 Quick Reference: MOTU Audio Setup

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE30SYNCING OPTICAL DEVICESWhen connecting an optical device, make sure that its digital audio clock is phase-locked (in s

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE31Sample rate conversionWith sample rate conversion (SRC), an extra level of master/slave clocking is added to the equa

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE32Some example scenarios are demonstrated below.Simple AES/EBU input transfer (no rate convert)Figure 4-14: Slaving the

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE33SYNCING WORD CLOCK DEVICESThe 896mk3 word clock connectors allow you to synchronize it with a wide variety of other w

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE34SYNCING TO SMPTE TIME CODEThe 896mk3 system can resolve directly to SMPTE time code. It can also generate time code an

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE35CONNECTING MULTIPLE MOTU FIREWIRE INTERFACESYou can daisy-chain up to four MOTU FireWire interfaces on a single FireW

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE36each other ensures that they remain as tightly and continuously phase-locked as if they were one unified interface.Ther

INSTALLING THE 896MK3 HARDWARE37and Traveler-mk3s, which all have two FireWire ports convenient for daisy-chaining. Up to four interfaces can be comb

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Part 2 Using the 896mk3 Hybrid896mk3 Hybrid book Page 39 Friday, August 19, 2011 1:44 PM

About the Mark of the Unicorn License Agreement and Limited Warranty on Software TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASE OR USE THIS PRODUCT: carefully read all the

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CHAPTER415 MOTU Audio SetupOVERVIEWMOTU Audio Setup gives you access to basic 896mk3 hardware settings, such as sample rate, clock source, optical for

MOTU AUDIO SETUP42896mk3 tab settingsThe 896mk3 tab (Figure 5-1) provides settings that apply to a specific 896mk3 interface. If you have several 896mk

MOTU AUDIO SETUP43 The 896mk3 provides 8 channels of analog input and 8 channels of analog output, simultaneously. The stereo return bus, as descri

MOTU AUDIO SETUP44menu when their corresponding optical bank input is enabled and set to the ADAT Optical format, as explained in “Optical input/outpu

MOTU AUDIO SETUP45output. The system input and output can be used for alert sounds and general audio I/O for applications like iTunes, iMovie, etc.Fi

MOTU AUDIO SETUP46The 896mk3 stereo return bus can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, you could use it to send a final mix being played th

MOTU AUDIO SETUP47Word OutThe Word Out menu appears when the 896mk3 is operating at a 2x sample rate (88.2 or 96kHz) or 4x sample rate (176.4 or 192k

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CHAPTER496 Front Panel OperationOVERVIEWThe 896mk3 Hybrid offers complete front-panel programming via six rotary encoders and a 2x16 backlit LCD displ

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FRONT PANEL OPERATION50MASTER VOL AND “(MAIN OUT)” PHONE JACKThe phone jack labeled (MAIN OUT) (Figure 6-1) is a standard quarter-inch stereo headphon

FRONT PANEL OPERATION51PROGRAMMABLE METERSThe programmable meter bank (Figure 6-4) lets you view the levels of any input or output bank (except analo

FRONT PANEL OPERATION52896MK3 SETUP MENUTo access the 896mk3 SETUP menu, push the PARAM knob until you see 896mk3 SETUP displayed in the LCD. This men

FRONT PANEL OPERATION53up in the same state. AutoSave Status tells you the current state of this process: Change Detected, Saving… or Saved. If it sa

FRONT PANEL OPERATION54 OUT (outputs) MIX (Mixes) REVERB (reverb processor)Navigating the four main menusTo access the four main menus above, push

FRONT PANEL OPERATION55The OUT (Outputs) menuPush the CHANNEL button repeatedly until you see “O:” in the channel section of the LCD (Figure 6-10). T

FRONT PANEL OPERATION56REVERB — these are the reverb send and return controls for the bus master fader. Access them with the PARAMETER knob. Note: if

FRONT PANEL OPERATION57INPUTS MENU OUTPUTS MENUCHANNEL PAGE PARAMINPUTSAnalog 1-2Analog 3-4etc.INPUT PAIRPHASEL-R/M-S (stereo or M/S)SWAPWIDTHTRIMLIM

FRONT PANEL OPERATION58MIXES MENU REVERB MENUSTAND-ALONE OPERATIONAll settings, including all mix settings and global settings, are saved in the 896mk

CHAPTER597 Configuring Host Audio SoftwareOVERVIEWThe 896mk3 Hybrid provides multi-channel audio input and output for Core Audio-compatible audio appli

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CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE60For complete details about the 896mk3 settings, see chapter 5, “MOTU Audio Setup” (page 41). The following sections p

CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE61be a menu there that lets you choose among various drivers that may be in your system. Choose the MOTU Audio driver

CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE62Soundtrack ProIn Soundtrack Pro, access the preferences window, click the Recording tab and choose MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid

CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE63Reason and RecordIn Propellerhead Reason or Record, go to the Preferences window, choose Audio preferences from the

CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE64For information on how you can identify each input and output in a numbered list like this, see Appendix A, “Audio I/

CONFIGURING HOST AUDIO SOFTWARE65configure the keystrokes triggered by the foot switch, visit MOTU Audio Setup. (See “Enable Pedal” on page 47.)24-BIT

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CHAPTER678 Reducing Monitoring LatencyOVERVIEWMonitoring latency is that slight delay you hear when you run an input signal through your host audio so

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY68MONITORING LIVE INPUTThere are two ways to monitor live audio input with an 896mk3: 1) through the computer or 2) via the

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY69ADJUSTING THE AUDIO I/O BUFFERA buffer is a small amount of computer memory used to hold data. For audio interfaces like

Quick Reference: 896mk3 Front Panel 1. These 10-segment level meters are dedicated to the 896mk3’s eight analog inputs. The top red ‘HOLD’ LED illumi

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY70Figure 8-4: In Cubase or Nuendo, choose Devices menu> DeviceSetup. Select MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid, then click the Control P

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY71Effects processing and automated mixingReducing latency with the buffer size setting has another benefit: it lets you rou

REDUCING MONITORING LATENCY72Controlling CueMix FX from within AudioDesk or Digital PerformerTo turn on CueMix FX in AudioDesk and Digital Performer:1

CHAPTER739 CueMix FXOVERVIEWCueMix FX is a cross-platform software application that provides graphic, on-screen control for the 896mk3 Hybrid’s flexibl

CUEMIX FX74A 16-BUS MIXER WITH EQ, COMPRESSION AND REVERBAll 896mk3 inputs and outputs can be routed to the on-board CueMix FX 16-bus (8 stereo bus) d

CUEMIX FX75CUEMIX FX INSTALLATIONCueMix FX is installed with the rest of your 896mk3 software.CUEMIX FX BASIC OPERATIONHere is a brief overview of th

CUEMIX FX76Each mix bus is independentEach mix bus has its own settings. Settings for one bus will not affect another. For example, if an input is use

CUEMIX FX77THE MIXES TABClick the Mixes tab (Figure 9-2) to gain access to the 896mk3’s eight stereo mix busses. The Mixes tab displays one mix bus a

CUEMIX FX78Bus muteThe bus mute button (Figure 9-2) disables (silences) the mix.Bus level meterThe bus level meter, which is post-fader, shows you the

CUEMIX FX79THE INPUTS TABThe 896mk3 provides many features for managing analog and digital input signals. Some of these features, such as the 896mk3’

Quick Reference: 896mk3 Rear Panel 1. These AES/EBU connectors can handle any supported sample rate up to 96 kHz, and they are also equipped with a s

CUEMIX FX80Input channel focusClick the channel focus button (Figure 9-3) to view and edit parameters in the channel settings section of the CueMix FX

CUEMIX FX81Figure 9-4: The EQ/Dynamics selectors.Click the selector (Figure 9-4) for the desired EQ band, low-pass (LP) filter, high pass (HP) filter o

CUEMIX FX82Output channel focusClick the channel focus button (Figure 9-6) to view and edit parameters in the channel settings section of the CueMix F

CUEMIX FX83THE CHANNEL SETTINGS SECTIONThe channel settings section in the CueMix FX window (Figure 9-1) displays three tabs for Channel, EQ and Dyna

CUEMIX FX84Stereo settingsInputs that have been grouped as stereo pairs in the Inputs tab (Figure 9-3) provide two stereo modes (Figure 9-8): Normal a

CUEMIX FX85The Bus Activity LEDs (Figure 9-9) show you which mix busses the input signal is being fed to. For example, LED #6 will glow under the fol

CUEMIX FX86the channel. In addition, each individual band of EQ has a Filter enable/disable switch (Figure 9-10), allowing you to enable as few or as

CUEMIX FX87amplitude scale is in dB and is adjustable between 3 and 24 dB using the vertical scale buttons (Figure 9-10).Showing and hiding filter cur

CUEMIX FX88Type IFigure 9-13: Type I EQ filter style.The Type I EQ filter has the least amount of Gain/Q interaction, providing the most precision and

CUEMIX FX89Type IIIFigure 9-15: Type III EQ filter style.The Type III EQ filter increases Q as boost is applied. Therefore, lower amounts of boost prov

CHAPTER 9 Quick Reference: MOTU Audio SetupProvides several options for the 896mk3’s AES/EBU sample rate conversion. See, “Syncing AES/EBU devices” o

CUEMIX FX90Shelf filtersFigure 9-17: Shelf filter Q parameter overshoot.When two top-most bands in the EQ tab are set to their shelf filter setting (Figu

CUEMIX FX91Overshoot tends to produce more of what one would expect to hear when applying shelving and is therefore considered to be more musical tha

CUEMIX FX92The Dynamics tabThe Dynamics tab (Figure 9-21) displays the Dynamics processing settings for the input or output channel that currently has

CUEMIX FX93Peak/RMS modesIn RMS mode the compressor uses RMS values (a computational method for determining overall loudness) to measure the input le

CUEMIX FX94It is precisely this self-adjusting behavior that makes optical compressors the tool of choice for smoothing out vocals, bass guitar and fu

CUEMIX FX95displaying an input meter). Click Pre to view levels before any input channel processing besides trim; click Post to view levels after all

CUEMIX FX96OutputWhen the Split Point is set to Output, the sends in Output tab become active and the returns in the Mix bus tab gray out. This allows

CUEMIX FX97Assigning outputs to the monitor groupAny combination of outputs can be assigned to the monitor group. To include an output pair in the mo

CUEMIX FX98Figure 9-25: Typical hardware setup for Talkback and Listenback. Talkback / Listenback Mic InputTo configure the talkback mic in CueMix FX,

CUEMIX FX99SHORTCUTSHold down the following general modifier keys as shortcuts:Hold down the following modifier keys as shortcuts for the EQ tab and co